Cowboy Carter is the eighth album by legendary Houston singer-songwriter Beyoncé. She’s been in the music business for well over 20 years and she needs no further introduction. I’ve heard many Beyoncé singles but haven’t listened to a full album of hers. And who can forget that she’s made many bangers such as “Single Ladies,” “Drunk in Love,” “Freedom,” and “Alien Superstar.” I think it’s important to mention that this album is the second of a planned trilogy of albums, it was preceded by Renaissance, which came out in 2022. Her music throughout her career has been mostly a mix of pop, R&B, and hip hop, but Renaissance was a house and dance-influenced album, and this newest record is a country record. Another important thing, I’d like to mention is that there’s a vibrant history of Black country music that is often forgotten, and that a big reason Beyonce made this album was to bring attention to that history. It’s also clear she wants to experiment with different sounds, and that she’s an incredibly talented singer, but how does she do with the genre of country? 

    The biggest issue I have with this album is its length. I haven’t listened to an album front to back this long since Kanye West’s 2021 album Donda. Sometimes long albums go by fast, this one doesn’t feel like it goes by super fast, since a lot of the interludes just feel kind of unnecessary to me, and some of the tracks such as “II HANDS II HEAVEN,” and “SWEET ⭐️HONEY ⭐️BUCKIIN’,” could’ve benefited from being one to two minutes shorter. The album starts off very strong though. Tracks like “BLACKBIIRD,” (a Paul McCartney cover), and “16 CARRIAGES,” are acoustic sounding highlights of the album that showcase Beyoncé’s impressive vocal range and the stripped back production lets her shine. The instrumentation is excellent on these tracks, as well. I like how personal and emotional tracks like “16 CARRIAGES,” and “PROTECTOR,” are, where she talks about her road to fame and embracing her motherhood respectively. “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” one of the main singles off the album, has a fun country line dance vibe, which I enjoy a lot, and the guitar and banjo sound like old school country from the likes of Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. In my opinion, Beyoncé is at her best on this album, when she’s singing about her personal experiences and singing over more country sounding production. “BODYGUARD,” is a decent track, but in my opinion it sounds too pop-sounding, even with the acoustic guitars and fuzzy guitar solo. It’s not a bad track by any means, but it’s not my favorite. While I’m not a big country music fan, I loved the original version of “Jolene,” by Dolly Parton, but I’m not a fan of Beyoncé’s cover. Probably one of my least favorite tracks on the album, Beyoncé’s singing isn’t bad though and the acoustic guitar strumming and minimalist drums are pleasant, but for me this cover just doesn’t stack up to the original. “DAUGHTER,” is another strong personal track, I like the “colder than Titanic water,” line and melancholy instrumentation, I like how she touches on fears that she’ll inherit the sins of her father even though she faced infidelity from her husband. That bridge sung in Italian is amazing too, as she sounds like an opera singer. I like the track with an intro spoken by black Country legend, Linda Martell, “SPAGHETTII,” and its hip hop infused sound. Martell was the first successful black female Country artist, and the first black female to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Beyoncé bringing this important Black history into her music, taught me about Linda Martell for the first time, and now I want to experience her music and read more about her. This history is fascinating, and I wish that it was taught to me in school growing up. I love the trap aesthetic of this track, with the background vocals of Swizz Beats, and the spaghetti western reference. There’s many great tracks on this record, and I respect Beyoncé for taking a risk genre wise. I say it’s a risk, because like Renaissance, it’s a vastly different sound than what I’ve been accustomed to hearing from Beyoncé. For every Yeezus, there’s a Rebirth. This album obviously falls closer to Yeezus territory, because Beyoncé is a very versatile singer. While I don’t like all the interludes, I enjoy the ones with Willie Nelson, because it gives us a narrator of sorts. Speaking of Willie Nelson, I enjoy the track that he’s on, “JUST FOR FUN.” It’s a beautiful slow ballad with that orchestra, piano, and acoustic guitar strumming as a backdrop. And that gospel choir at the end is a magnificent touch. Another track I’m not a fan of is “II MOST WANTED,” featuring Miley Cyrus, as I’m not a fan of her personally, and I feel like a better artist should’ve been featured such as Kacey Musgraves or Brandi Carlisle. Miley Cyrus is a pop singer, she may be able to sing country decently, but she just doesn’t fit with the sound of this album, in my view. “LEVII’S JEANS,” has a solid Beyoncé verse, and Post’s verse is decent, but like the previous track, I feel like she could’ve featured a country artist, instead of a mainstream pop/hip-hop artist. It’s not bad, but theres a missed opportunity there. While there’s a lot of strong points on this album, tracks such as “II MOST WANTED,” “LEVII’S JEANS,” and “JOLENE,” fell short in comparison to tracks such as “BLACKBIIRD,” and “YA YA.” Beyoncé has a one in a kind voice, which is filled with soul and an infectious energy, I just wish some of the features on this album had different artists, and that some of the tracks were cut down in length. I like the Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson features, however. Overall it’s an album that is impressive in its authentic country sound, while also sounding uniquely Beyoncé. The production is fantastic, and there are plenty of highlights on this record, but 27 tracks is excessive in my opinion, and weakens the strong spots on this LP. Beyoncé transitioned from dance music to country music seamlessly, but there’s some missed opportunities that leave me slightly disappointed. I admire Beyoncé for bringing the un-talked about history of country music to light, I just feel like her features could’ve been better and that some of the tracks were either unnecessarily long or didn’t add much to the grand scheme of the album.

Overall Score: 7/10

Favorite Tracks: “BLACKBIIRD,” “16 CARRIAGES,” “PROTECTOR,” “JUST FOR FUN,” “DAUGHTER,” “TYRANT.”

Least Favorite Tracks: “JOLENE,” “II MOST WANTED”

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhempeEjGUA

Genres: Country/Americana